Kaleidoscopic Lima

We all have something to live for, mine is to create, I create to be able to live. And getting to the creation of “Kaleidoscopic Colonial Lima” has meant the unification of my knowledge of Communication Sciences, Anthropology, Semiotics, Photography, Art and my research in digital printing techniques, pattern making and sewing, accompanied by perseverance, challenging myself constantly and understanding that even if we dream of being the best at something , we discover that we are only adding a little light to all the existing creations in the world.

The process of creation of my approach to what we call fashion has meant having gone through the process of learning about clothing, with the main objective to share my aesthetic view through garments that capture my photography. In doing so _of course _ there has been great risk involved, I mean risking to do digital printing on fabric, which in my country is only done via sublimation, and share an artistic vision in five pieces, which for me are part of this fashion show only, but my down to earth vision to everyday aesthetics (Pret -a –porter/ ready to wear) collection is less pompous but not less visual.

My piece in yellow and blue (for example) shows how simple yet monumental (it shows another sight of the Roosevelt House) Lima is. Many people are unaware or do not pay attention when commuting, but when they see it on print they say “Oh! The palace!”, which leads me to think that when you see something with love or you see it from an artistic perspective, you can turn it onto something grand and beautiful. You can turn a monument that is falling apart on the inside into something surreally beautiful. (I say this objectively, I stayed there in the 90s, when it was a hotel. Who knew then I would fall in love with its beauty and translate it onto clothes?) To this piece I wanted to add the baroque touch with the blue skirt, giving a contrast of volume and fantasy.

In this collection I used fabrics that are friendly to reliable print, something we photographers concern about, however, this is still a work in progress. What I always wanted is to achieve large format canvases full of detail that would allow me to design/display an image in 360 degrees (like the human body itself), like all pioneering ideas, it must follow its own path.

Something that has characterized my life is to take risks (I do not play it safe). Also, as the friends who have seen my wardrobe lately (the pret- a-porter collection that will show soon and consists of a selection of dresses in organic cotton with additions of digital prints on canvas and/or mini and midi skirts), are pieces thought on me, tested on me and if working properly, then I can share with the rest. I think one must first love and try things at 100% to see if they work. This fashion show was eminently an artistic – fun approach, not very wearable nor commercial, except for risk taker minds like mine.

As the title of the collection says, “Kaleidoscopic Colonial Lima” wanted to show the magnificence of the city, not only forms that recreate the era (such as the voluminous skirt with House Roosevelt in it ) but also to make a remembrance of the many architectural sights I photographed (the one with the broad shoulders) and obviously do a recreation of the tapada Limeña 2014, a kind of playful concept of the tapada (a covered up woman of the Colonial times) and have the bare back (covered face, bare back, all a contradiction in itself).

This same outfit also recreates the symbiosis of Colonial Lima , the mixture of many things , races, cultures, showing Lima these days as kaleidoscopic as it itself is . And I went “over the top” with this concept to play with what was also seen as a virgin , yet is the typical tapada Limeña . This piece began as a cape and became a dress, details that I did not bother removing, as it shows what Lima is, a collage in different layers, which in our culture is called chicha.

Red could not miss my show, the balloon skirt (also with the Roosevelt House in it) also speaks of architectural volumes, complemented with the necklace. You can tell I have used the image of the Roosevelt house in various pieces as a choice to diversify just one image, one the beautiful icons to Colonial Lima.

Accessories are a topic apart, in which I have used the techniques of gold leaf and silver leaf , also from the colonial era, crosses and flowers give life to the necklaces (Crosses to me do not have a religious message but rather a cultural meaning, I think we could not talk about this time without mentioning the Colonial cross) adding the flora of the city in leather. One thing I wanted to emphasize was the artistic – conceptual approach of the collection , to the point of using canvas to build my stand in Flashmode. I wanted it all to make ​​sense and send a message of uniqueness, to give a message on this approach using printing technology with the heritage of cosmopolitan Lima these days.

For this fashion show I wanted to treat myself to do something visually challenging and at volume level, I wanted to show all this and more . And when I say more it is because I have not yet finished with the production of this collection, there are various proposals in my brush to come true. Pieces that combine both flag products of Peru. On one side its high quality raw material, the organic cotton and its rich visual beauty.

With this experience I can say that never fashion, clothing and think almost anything in general should be taken so seriously. There is the right to play, to experiment, to see whether something works or not. Because when you play it safe, you may be successful at the time, but that does not lead to more innovation or change.

I want to paint the world with what I see, create pieces that inspire, that are readily eye catching, causing passions to shine, as graphic as they can be. I want to take visual portions of the world and give them away through clothes , enjoy , laugh , jump and in the interim … dream and make those dreams come true , like a good Nefelibata…

When I work, I fall in love with what I do and I want to share it as it is, always improving, always exploring more. For now, this experience (although, that is a topic for another article) has shown me that what we call fashion/clothing may be superficial or banal (if you want to take it that way or if you want to remain with such prejudice), but it can also be as profound, philosophical and human as you may want it to be. Above all, this collection has a lot of love and that is where my happiness comes from and where it lies.

Ps1. Yes, the shoes were also a creation for this collection

Ps2. You can follow me on https://www.facebook.com/Nefelibata